Baltimore Ravens Not Expected To Draft Center With 14th Pick

KEY POINTS

The Baltimore Ravens might not be drafting a center after all with their 14th overall pick
General manager Eric DeCosta gives hints about the team's draft plans
Their recent signings point to building a brigade centered on Lamar Jackson

The Baltimore Ravens are looking to retool their roster this season with key pieces across the board as they hope to make the Super Bowl with quarterback Lamar Jackson leading the way.

With a multitude of draft picks under their belt, the Ravens are expected to fill out the Bradley Bozeman-sized hole at center with the 14th overall pick.

That may not be the case, according to general manager Eric DeCosta’s recent statements.

"I think one of the cool things about this Draft at the center position is we see four or five guys that we like that might not be first round-type picks and that might be second, third, or fourth round guys that we think would be good players at center this year,” DeCosta said as quoted by Raven Country.

“You might have four or five guys in a Draft class that you think are actually draftable prospects. So, one of the, I’d say, strategies that we see more and more teams do now is they take tackles and guards and convert those guys to center – bigger guys.”

Based on these statements, offensive tackle Patrick Mekari is likely going to be their man in the middle this season, but his versatility at protecting the quarterback from edge rushers might see him stay as a tackle.

At this point, the Ravens are mainly in need of upgrades to their defense, mainly in the cornerback position, defensive line and edge rushing groups.

Defensive end Calais Campbell re-upping for the next and probably last two years of his career solves a massive problem for them up front, while inside linebacker Josh Bynes’ return is a nice start to addressing those concerns.

The free-agent signings of defensive tackle Michael Pierce, safety Marcus Williams and offensive tackle Morgan Moses to close out March has to be a show of force by the front office to Jackson.

At this point, Jackson is yet to sign his extension with the Ravens, but a deal could get done sooner rather than later.

The organization has their work cut out for them, but they are trending in the right direction.